Like most freelancers, I end up listening to a lot of podcasts. So I thought I'd put together a list of a few of my favorites.
1. After the Jump: Hosted by Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney, After the Jump is a terrific resource for freelancers, creatives, small business owners and the like. A balance of interviews, tips and how-to's, it's definitely given me a lot of food for thought.
2. Serial: When I first heard that This American Life was doing a spin-off, I'll admit I was skeptical. But Sarah Koenig's made a convert of me and I'm counting down the days until each new episode. What I really love about Serial is the way it takes a story and disassembles it, examining all the bits of information we typically zoom past in this soundbite age. Caveat: Season 1 deals with a murder, so heads up if you're someone who listens to shows with kiddos around.
3. BBC Radio 4 Extra: You guys have no idea how much of this I listen to. For reals. I'm a sucker for radio dramas, so Radio 4 Extra is my auditory Shangri-La. Modern book adaptations, classics in serial form, sci-fi, it's pretty much all here. And speaking of the BBC...
4. Desert Island Discs: Stranded on a desert island, what tunes would you take along? Desert Island Discs poses this question to a terrific range of guests, everyone from politicians to actors, humanitarians to academics. You can also search for shows where the "castaway" choses a particular artist (and yes, I did listen to every show where the castaway chose the Talking Heads).
5. Smart Creative Women: A treasure trove of interviews with women in a wide range of fields, everything from surface design to quilting to illustration and more.
And what else? I figure This American Life, Radiolab and All Songs Considered are a given for most people, but if you don't listen, get a move on ASAP. I don't listen as frequently to How to do Everything and 99% Invisible, but when I do, like 'em a lot. And if you have the slightest interest in comics, Jerzy Drozd's Comics are Great podcast is top notch.
Whew. So what did I miss?